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STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY 


Its Origin, Incorporation and Objects-First Annual 


Meet i 


ng 


Election of Officers—Addresses by President Frarjk- 

Richards, Professor J. T. Ki-qgsbury and Dr. E. S. 
F ergusoT), 


esSi inter¬ 
relating to all data 

relating to the history of Utah anri 

this intermountain region have_at 

various times-through the medium of 

nronnltv ^of suggested the 

propriety of organizing a State his- 

withfn fa'^^a^y^jwhich should include 
^ numbers, or membership, 
all who were interested in such an or- 
T^V, However, it was not un¬ 
til the Jubilee year that the subject 
‘^^finite consideration 
which brought matters to the point of 
action and produced positive results. 

Amidst the manifold preparations 
Incident to the proper observance of 
tn6 semi-cent6nnial of tiro discovory 
and settlement of Utah, the idea was 
again uppermost in the minds of those 
who felt that the celebration should 
be something more than “a fleeting 
show.” 

ORIGIN. 

Early in the month of April, Jerrold 
R. Letcher, clerk of the Federal courts, 
laid the matter before Mr. Alfales 
Young, Editor of the Salt Lake Her- 
a.ld, and as a result an article appeared 
in that paper (April 3rd, 1897,) urging 
the Jubilee commission to take the 
necessary steps to perfect such an or¬ 
ganization. Articles of a similar 
strain appeared in the other city pa¬ 
per? and Anally, on the 22nd of June, 
1891, Mr. Letcher addressed a com¬ 
munication to the commission, second¬ 
ing the suggestions made and urging 
mmediate action. This was referred 
by the commission to Governor Heber 
M. Wells with a request that he ar¬ 
range the necessary preliminaries for 
the organization or ciic 
interview followed between the Gov¬ 
ernor and Mr. Letcher and as a result 
a call, addressed to the people of Utah 
and numerously signed by representa¬ 
tive citizens from all parts of the 
State, was issued, designating Thurs¬ 
day, the 22nd day of July as proper 
time for a meeting to be held for the 
consideration of the subject. 

FIRST MEETING. 

Pursuant to the call the first meet¬ 
ing was held at the Hotel Templeton 
at the date indicated, and was called 
to order by Governor Wells, upon 
whose suggestion Jerrold R. Letcher 
was made chairman and James T. 
Hammond, secretary of State, was 
chosen as secretary of the temporary 
organization. 

Addresses were made by Hon. 
Franklin D. Richards, Isabel Cameron 
Brown, Hon. Hadley D. Johnson, Hon. 
John Parry, Prof. Joseph T. Kings¬ 
bury, Dr. Ellen B. Ferguson, Heber 
J. Grant, General John Q. Cannon, 
Governor Heber M. "Wells and James 
X. Ferguson—all expressive of the 
feeling that such an organization 
should be perfected at once. 

A resolution was adopted directing 
the chairman to appoint a committee 
on permanent organization and incor¬ 
poration, and as such Heber J. Grant, 
Clesson S. Kinney, Isabel Cameron 
Brown, Joseph T. Kingsbury, John T. 
Caine, Eurithe K. LaBarthe and Matt 
Thomas were named. 

A further committee consisting of 
General John Q- Cannon, Governor 
Heber M. Wells, Antoinette B. Kinney, 
Spencer Clawson, Edward F. Colburn, 
Dr. Ellen B. Ferguson and Horace G. 
Whitney were named, to arrange with 
the Jubilee commission and others for 
securing all material illustrative of 
growth and development of Utah, 
which might be collected for exhibi¬ 
tion during the semi-centennial cele¬ 
bration. 

INCORPORATION. 

After much unavoidable delay, the 
committee on Incorporation prepared 
the necessary articles and by-laws and 
submitted the same to a meeting bslb 
December 28th, 1897, at which time they 
were duly adopted and filed for record. 

The objects for which the society is 
organized were designed to be the en¬ 
couragement of historical research and 
inquiry by the exploration of aborigin- 
al monuments and remains the col- 
lection of such material as may serve 
to illustrate the growth, development 
and resources of Utah and the inter- 
mountain region, the preservation of 
manuscripts, papers, documents and 
tracts of value, especially narratives of 
the adventurers of early explorers and 
pioneers, the establishment and main¬ 
tenance of science, literature and the 
liberal arts, the dissemination of in¬ 
formation and the holding of meetings 
at stated intervals. _ 

The membership is to consist of ac¬ 
tive, life, corresponding and honorary 


^etings of the society are to be held 
rally on the third Monday in Janu- 
of each year. Its affairs are to be 
m the management of a board of 
rol, to consist of the officers and 
ixecutive committee of nine mem- 

iplications for membership must be 
irsed by not less than three active 
ibers in good standing, and ad- 
sed to the board of control, by 
m they are elected. The regular 
tings of the board are fixed for the 
weeks of January, April, July and 
her. 

,e initiation fee is placed at $2.00, 
the annual dues at the same. 

CHARTER MEMBERS. 

e charter members of the society 
isisting of those who signed the 
nal call or attended the first meet- 
-are as follows: 

arles Adams, Parowan; Caleb R. 
■att, Robert N. Baskin, Charles W. 
lett, Alexander C. Bishop, Nat. M. 
ham, Isabel Cameron-Brown, Salt 
Electa Bullock, Provo; John T. 
e Angus M. Cannon, John D. Can- 
Spencer Clawson, Edward F. Col- 
George Q. Coray, Benjamin F. 
mlngs Jr., Chris Diehl, John E. 
y Willard Done, Ellen B. Fergu- 
Salt Lake; James X. Ferguson, 
ler; Charles C. Goodwin, Joseph 
■■hegan, Heber J. Grant, Salt Lake; 
BS T. Hammond, Logan; Harry C. 

Tidela Marie Belcher Hamilton, 
is S. Hills, Salt Lake; John Horton, 
rlcan Fork; William Howard, 
tington; Hadley D. Johnson An¬ 


drew Jenson, Joseph T. Kingsbury, An¬ 
toinette B. Kinney, Clesson S. Kinney 
Eurithe K. La Barthe, Henry 
Lawrence, Salt Lake; William A. 
Lee, Ogden; Jerrold R. Letcher, Salt 
Lake; Robert C. Lund, St. George; 
John T. Lynch, Thomas Marshall, Salt 
Lake; Jacob F. Miller, Farmington; 
Elias Morris, William S. McCornick’ 
Salt Lake; Harry F. McCune, Nephi 
Emma V. Mc'Vicker, Salt Lake; Aquila 
Nebeker, Laketown; John Parry, Ce- 
ard; Orlando W. Powers, Charles W. 
Penrose, Arthur Pratt, Salt Lake; 
Franklin D. Richards, Ogden; Franklin 
S. Richards, Morris L. Ritchie, Charles 
R. Savage, Salt Lake; Lewis "W". Shurt- 
liff, Ogden; Elas A. Smith, Grant H. 
Smith, John Henry Smith, Salt Lake; 
Joseph D. Smith, Logan; Abraham o'. 
Smoot, Provo; George W. Thatcher, 
Logan; Mat Thomas, Farmington; 
Emmeline B. M^ells, Salt Lake; Barry 
Wride, Provo; Heber M. Wells, Horace 
G. Whitney, Orson F. Whitney, Everett 
W. Wilson, Parey L. Williams, John R. 
Winder, Alfales Young, Charles S. 
Zane, Richard W. Young, Salt Lake. 

FIRST ANNUAL MEETING. 

Pursuant to the provision of the arti¬ 
cles of incorporation the first annual 
meeting of the society was held on 
Monday, January 17, 1898, at the 

Theosophical Hall, West Temple Street, 
Salt Lake, at which a report was made 
of the doings of the society for the 
preceding year and addresses deliv¬ 
ered by the president, Franklin D. 
Richards, Professor Joseph T. Kings¬ 
bury, president of the State University 
and Dr. Ellen B. Ferguson, which will 
T-vp found in these colu mns. 

An election of offlc 
ing year was then held resulting in a 
continuation of the old board, as fol¬ 
lows, to-wit: Franklin D. Richards, 

president;, Isabel Cameron Brown, 
vice-president, Jerrold R. Letcher, re¬ 
cording secretary, James T. Hammond, 
corresponding secretary; Lewis S. Hills, 
treasurer, Antionette B. Kinney, li¬ 
brarian, and the executive committee— 
one year—Joseph Geoghegan, Electa 
Bullock, C. C. Goodwin. Two years—L. 
W. Shurtliff, H. W. Lawrence, Robert 
C. Lund. Three years—George W. 
Thatcher, Joseph T. Kingsbury and 
John T. Caine. 

The committe appointed to confer 
with the Jubilee Commission,submitted 
a report informing the society that 
they had secured many relics of value 
from the late celebration subject to fu¬ 
ture action of the Legislature and were 
continued with a request to arrange 
with the City Library association for 
a proper depository of such and all 
other articles that might come into 
their possession. It is understood that 
a section of the library will be assigned 
to the society for the proper exhibit of 
its articles as well as for other neces¬ 
sary uses. 

PRESIDENT RICHARDS’S ADDRESS 

President Richards’s address, deliver¬ 
ed at the first annual meeting above 
referred to was couched in the follow¬ 
ing language: 

Ladies and Gentlemen: Permit me 
to extend to you and to the State of 
Utah my congratulations on the organ¬ 
ization of this Historical Society. It 
marks a step forward and upward on 
the path of Utah’s progress. It has 
commenced at an opportune period. 
Half a century having passed since 
the Pioneers planted the flag of our 
country, as the signal of civilization, 
in this then arid spot on the Great 
American Desert, materials for the 
compilation of history exist in plenti¬ 
ful and varied forms. The relics of 
early times in Utah which made an in¬ 
teresting feature of our Semi-Centen¬ 
nial celebration, and which have been 
generously donated to this society by 
the Jubilee Commission, wull forni a 
nucleus for the accretion of similar 
articles, valuable for history in that 
particular direction. The work involved 
in their accumulation and care will 
constitute but one department for the 
consideration of this society. 

The agricultural development of Utah 
embracing the fruit-raising, garden¬ 
ing, stock-growing, sheep-raising and 
kindred Interests will form another de¬ 
partment. The introduction, extension 
and application of the system of irri¬ 
gation, in which Utah was the pioneer 
in the United States, will furnish an¬ 
other field from which history may 
gather a valuable harvest. 

The commencement and growth of 
manufactures, from the simplest hand- 
labor articles of common necessity, up 
through the successive improvements 
in utensils and fabrics to meet the de¬ 
mands of more luxurious times, to the 
mighty machinery by which the prec¬ 
ious metals are obtained from the 
crude ores forced out of the solid 
mountains, sugar is produced and cry- 
stalized from the carefuliy cultured 
beet, and electricity is brought into 
action as a nightly Illuminator and a 
daily propelling force, will be another 
source from which the historian will 
derive appropriate information. 

The mineral products of Utah afford 
material for still another department 
of the history of the State. The vast 
extent and wonderful variety of these 
resources are the admiration of all in¬ 
vestigators. At least eighty different 
kinds of mineral deposits have been 
discovered within Utah’s boundaries. 
They include not only the precious me¬ 
tals and those essential to modern 
manufactures, but substances known 
to chemistry as of inestimable value. 
They are undoubtedly destined to at¬ 
tract the attention of the whole world, 
and to place this State in the veix fore¬ 
most rank of the mineral-bearing re¬ 
gions of the earth. 

The evolution of architecture, as ex¬ 
hibited in the advancement from prim¬ 
itive log cabin to the stately mansion, 
and from the plain adobe 
with its small openings and 
sashes, to the imposing ediflees, PUbbc 
and private, erected and beautified wltn 
sandstone, granite, marble, onyx and 
other costly materials, obtained within 
our borders, must not be forgotten. 

Nor must w^e omit the pleasing 
change that has taken place in the 
means of locomotion and inter-com¬ 
munication. The ox-teams and 
“schooners” or covered wagons, wltn 
which thousands of immigrants wended 


their way hither, more than a thou¬ 
sand miles across the plains and 
mountains, and which were the means 
of travel from place to place in this 
region, and even the mule teams which 
succeeded them, have disappeared. 
Even the fine horses bred in these val¬ 
leys are now rarely used, except for 
Pleasure-riding and short trips, and 
great railroad systems, bringing huge 
trains with living freight and masses 
of merchandise, have superceded them 
built in large degree with Utah labor 
and capital. The electric telegraph at 
an early date was utilized here and 
lines built to various points, and now 
we are in connection with the vast net¬ 
work of lines that reach over contl- 
nets and under the bed of oceans, op¬ 
ening for us intercourse with the world 
The telephone also has been brought 
into use, placing us in the lead of many 
more populous portions of the Repu¬ 
blic. The torch and the oil-lamp have 
faded out in the glare of the electric 
light, which now illuminates our 
streets, our public buildings, our com¬ 
fortable homes, and almost dispenses 
with the use of gas, once prized as a 
great light. The story of these trans¬ 
formations and the benefits which have 
resulted therefrom to Individuals, to 
families and to the State, cannot fail to 
add liistre to the pages of our history 
and should be chronicled as marks of 
Utah’s advancement and willingness 
to utilize the improvements of the age. 

The opening and colonization of other 
valleys than that of the Great Salt 
Lake, the means by which they were 
settled and by which, though located 
at altitudes where it was supposed to 
be Impossible to raise anything but 
mountain grasses, splendid farms and 
orchards and thriving towns and vil¬ 
lages, with comfortable homes, school 
houses, churches, marts of commerce 
and other evidences of civilization have 
taken the place of barrenness and soli¬ 
tude, will also be found a worthy sub¬ 
ject for the pen of the historian. 

The history of the progress of educa¬ 
tion in Utah will date back to the very 
earliest days of the occupation of this 
part of the public domain, which was 
then Mexican territory. It will be seen 
that this has been commensurate with 
the growth of population, the increase 
of w,ealth and the access to those facil- 
ities^^obtainable from the best sources 
'If need, not particularize on 

thisyuF-partment, as it will no doubt 
upon in greater detail and 
ability by others. 

The department of religion will also 
necessarily engage the attention of la¬ 
borers in historical work. The estab¬ 
lishment of the various churches, the 
obstacles they have overcome, the prop¬ 
erty they have accumulated, the suc¬ 
cess they have achieved, both at home 
and abroad, and their general effects 
upon society and the upbuilding of the 
State, are some of the topics to be 
treated upon in this department. 

Utah’s literature must also be con¬ 
sidered. This will include the publica¬ 
tion of daily, semi-weekly, weekly and 
semi-monthly newspapers, also maga¬ 
zines, books, pamphlets, works in poe¬ 
try and in prose, the establishment of 
publishing houses, the founding of lit¬ 
erary societies, contributions from 
Utah’s writers to the literature of 
other parts of the world, and the pro¬ 
ductions of literary genius and talent 
from various parts of the State, which 
through the modesty of the author^ or 
for other reasons, have not been given 
to the public. 

The fine arts must come in for their- 
share of attention. Among Utah’s sons 
and daughters are artists of no mean 
abilities and attainments. Painters, 
sculptors, musicians, dramatists, act¬ 
ors, decorators, fashioners of dainty 
fabrics and embellishments, are numer¬ 
ous among them, and some have at¬ 
tained national and world-wide cele¬ 
brity. Specimens of our sculptors’ art 
occupy already not only places in oui 
State Capital, but in the niches of 
fame abroad. Music sits enthroned in 
these mountain valleys, the sound 
thereof has gone abroad in mellifluous 
tones to the ends of the earth. The 
paintings of our home artists have ap¬ 
peared on the walls of the world’s great 
galleries and of wealthy collectors who 
are conossieurs in art. The fair sex 
excel in ceramics, the finest needle 
work and other artistic productions of 
skillful hands, and in various ways 
Utah exhibits talent worthy of record. 

In the field of invention, the Patent 
Office at the seat of government will 
furnish evidence that Utah is not be¬ 
hind in the march of the human 
family. 

The social customs, manners and 
morals of Utah will also engage the 
attention of this society. Our com¬ 
munity is made up of people who have 
come from all the civilized nations and 
from some of the semi-barbarous 
tribes, while it has been surrounded by 
savages, the natives of the soil. The 
languages spoken by the residents of 
this State number at least twenty-five. 
The amalgamation of these varied ele¬ 
ments of humanity into one harmoni¬ 
ous social organism, is something 
worthy the attention of the student 
and the labor of the historian. 

The political department of Utah’s 
history is also of vast importance. 
From the time that the Pioneers es¬ 
tablished a local provisional govern¬ 
ment, which afterwards took the shape 
of the State of Deseret, seeking ad¬ 
mission into the Great American Un¬ 
ion, up through the conditions of terri¬ 
torial vassalage, the numerous efforts 
towards enlarged liberty, the repeated 
struggles and failures to effect this 
grand end, until at length the glorious 
boon of sovereign Statehood was ob¬ 
tained, and Utah gained her rights and 
privileges and was crowned with the 
glor-’’ of a free commonwealth, making 
the' fort- “eth star in the National 
gaU cy, points for the historian will be 
bris ing with interest and ready to be 
reco ded in the annals of our society. 

T> B establishment of woman suffrage 
by he Territorial Assembly in 1870, 
its 'peal by Congress, the incorpora- 
tiol of a provision in the State Con- 
stit :ion for equal political rights and 
priiJeges to both sexes, and its statu- 
tor’ enactment by the first State Legis- 
lati e of Utah, after animated debates, 
are imong those points that must not 
be eglected. The conflicts of parties, 
the works of our municipalities, our 
cou' ty boards, our Territorial and 
Sta 1 Legislatures, the doings of our 
fed' ’al and local officials, the relations 
of I T people to the government of the 
Un, 3d States, the loyalty maintained 
thr; Jgh all the complications, difficul¬ 
ties; and misunderstandings of the past, 
and the great and benefleient change 
tha has taken place in the feelings of 
our fellow-citizens towards us through¬ 
out the Union, will all contribute to 
mal'S this portion of our history mo- 
mer tous and of immense worth. 

A long the means of information 
ava lable on all these topics are the 
files of Utah newspapers, magazines 
and other periodicals, the local li¬ 


braries, the State, county and munici¬ 
pal records, the journals and diaries 
kept hy persons familiar with current 
events, for their own benefit or pro 
bono publico. The Genealogical Socie- 
* Utah, of which I have the honor 
to he president, has a library contain¬ 
ing valuable historic records, pedigrees 
and kindred works. The collections in 
museums, and the recollections of old 
inhabitants still sound in mind and 
active in intellect, the libraries and 
museums in other states having a sim¬ 
ilar purpose to that of ours will also 
no doubt furnish many things which 
will aid in the work that lies before us. 

It is obvious that this work cannot 
be accomplished without expense. 
Money will be needed for the prosecu¬ 
tion of the labors of this society, and 
that which will accrue from the initi¬ 
ation fees and dues of its members will 
not be adequate to the growing de¬ 
mand. I suggest, therefore, that menas 
be adopted to obtain from our State 
Legislature an appropriation to aid in 
effecting the purpose we have in view 
also to secure life-memberships, en¬ 
dowments and other voluntary contri¬ 
butions, that the society may not be 
crippled or retarded for lack of neces¬ 
sary funds. 

I regard the organization of this 
society as the foundation for a super¬ 
structure which will be continuously 
added upon, as the years pass by, until 
an edifice will appear which will com¬ 
mand the admiration of successive 
generations, which will be invaluable 
to our mountain State, which will rank 
among the foremost Institutions of the 
kind in our beloved country, and which 
will aid materially in the education of 
our people and advance the welfare of 
mankind. 

THE TRUE MISSION OF HISTORY. 

Dr. Ellen B. Ferguson was the next 
speaker. The lady’s theme was the 
true Mission of History. She said: 

“Of all the departments of literature, 
history is not only the most ancient 
but the most important. To the stu¬ 
dent of today it is at once the record 
of human experience and the basis of 
human aspiration. "Without it the lives 
of nations are but as passing shadows, 
and the achievements of mankind but 
the phastasma goria of a dream. 
Herodotus, who lived B. C. 500 has been 
called the father of history, and is re¬ 
puted to have said that "History is 
philosophy teaching by example.” He 
wrote a charming tale of the civilized 
world of his time, and since his day the 
writing of history has been one of the 
most popular and prolific fields of lit¬ 
erature. Succeeding ages have multi¬ 
plied histories a thousand fold. His¬ 
tories have been written of wars, poli¬ 
tical movements, religions, morals, 
learning, science, arts, philooophy and 
economics; but in all ages it has been 
the picturesque and dramatic aspects 
of human affairs that have monopo¬ 
lized the attention and enlisted the 
pen of the historian. 

“Ancient histories are filled with 
the records of the splendor 
of mighty despotisms, the royal pomp 
of kings and queens, the triumphs of 
victorious generals, the tumults of pol¬ 
itical factions, or the successful in¬ 
trigues of cunning diplomats. On the 
pillars in the temple of fame are in¬ 
scribed the names of the plumed and 
crested knight, the royal conquerer, the 
successful statesman, the brilliant or¬ 
ator and the astute politician. These 
are the subjects that have absorbed 
the interest and guided thepen of the 
‘historian, and his co-laborer, the poet. 
The progress of civilization, the decline 
of militarism and despotism, the birth 
and growth of industrial development 
and the changes that political, religious 
and civil conditions have undergone 
within the last few decades, have 
caused a change to come over both the 
spirit and the methods of the muse of 
history. Today interest is awak¬ 
ened not in the general but in the 
soldier; not in the king but in the sub¬ 
ject; not in the noble but in the arti¬ 
san. The historian has discovered that 
kings, queens and warriors are not the 
makers of history. It is the people that 
are the builders of a nation. 

It is no longer the pyramids 

of Cheops but the Pyramids 

of Egypt; it is not the Parthenon of 
Pericles and Phidias, but the “glory 
that was of Greece.” The three hun¬ 
dred patriots at Thermopylae are irn- 
mortalized no less than Leonidas, their 
leader. It is realized that the Arch of 
Tiberius was neither conceived nor 

erected by the Roman emperor. It 
was the thought of a nameless archi¬ 
tect, wrought out by an unknown 
mechanic. The Coliseum of "Vespasian 
is less a monument of that cruel and 
selfish monarch than of the obscure 
artist who planned it, the toiling 
masses who erected it, and of the mar¬ 
tyrs “butchered to make a Roman 
holiday.” 

“Coming down nearer to our own 
time, we find the minds of men are no 
longer bewitched by the genius of 
Napoleon; all eyes are turned to the 
third estate and that proletariat that 
shattered one of the oldest and most 
brilliant monarchies of Europe, and 
shook the political foundations of the 
Old "World to their very center. As it 
was in the Old World, so it is in the 
New. History to be true to her mis¬ 
sion must recognize the masses. And 
especially in this land of political 
equality and freedom must it tell the 
story of those nameless heroes of all 
time—the masses of the People, who 
have fought the battles, budded the 
cities, and wrought the fabric of civ¬ 
ilization, into an enduring monument 
to the worth of human industry and 
the value of human liberty. History 
is one of the most comprehensive 
studies in the broad field of literature. 
As a bare record of facts and events 
it loses half its charms for the general 
student, but when investipted in 
connection with 

chronology, which have been called its 
two eyes, it becomes a panorama of 
human lives, a series of vivid pictures 
fn which we live the lives of nations 
long passed away. 

“Mr. President. I congratulate you 
and the members of this association 
arwelTas all the citizens of Utah on 
the auspicious event that we are here 
met to celebrate this evening, viz.: 
tZ birth of the State Historical so- 
eietv of Utah. Dating its existence 
from the Semi-Centennial Jubilee year 
of our settlement as a territory, it has 
hroad fields of research behind as 
well as before it. The history of 
TTtah does not begin even 
with our honored Pioneers. The ex¬ 
plorations of Gardenas, La Houtan Es- 
cMante Bridger, Fremont, the intrepid 
Pathfinder Ashley and Bonneville are 
worthy of preservation in the ar¬ 
chives of our society as landmarks that 
blazed the way for civilization and the 
been the division on political party 
lines allaving much of the extreme 
feeling which heretofore pre¬ 
vailed The people of all classes have 


since more or less worked together for 
the upbuilding of the country, mingled 
they are still possessed of mental 
vigor and physical strength to record 
the events of the Pioneer days. 

“We should also appreciate the fore¬ 
thought of those who in diary and 
journal have preserved a history of 
those “times that tried men’s souls” 
and who thus laid a broad foundation 
upon which future historians may safe¬ 
ly build. Perhaps no State in the 
Union affords a wider scope for the 
genius of the true historian than Utah. 
Her citizens have made history at a 
rapid rate. Take for instance the his¬ 
tory of education in Utah. We can 
most of us remember, less than 
twenty years ago, the little adobe 
schoolhouses, bare of every educational 
facility but books and benches, with 
teachers poorly equipped as to 
knowledge and methods, in which the 
majority of our citizens imbibed their 
first rudiments of education' and from 
these unpromising beginnings the 
thirst for knowledge grew and 
strengthened until it has culminated in 
the magnificent free school system 
which is the pride of our community, 
and the “expectancy and rose of the 
fair State.” it needed more than the 
faith of a prophet and the imagination 
of a poet to foresee the evolution of our 
stately University from so humble an 
ancestor. May the Historical Society 
of Utah live, grow and flourish, and 
may it stand as a beacon light in the 
history of our progress and a star of 
promise to those who shall come after 
us.” 


address by PROFFESSOR KINGS¬ 
BURY. 

Professor Kingsbury spoke as fol¬ 
lows: 

“It affords me great pleasure to have 
the opportunity and the honor to speak 
at the first regular meeting of the 
State Historical Society of Utah. Utah 
is my native home and what has con¬ 
cerned the people of Utah has more or 
less concerned me, the various vicissi¬ 
tudes through which theyhave passed,to 
a large extent have I passed. Although 
not a Pioneer the almost immeidate 
effects of a Pioneer life have made 
their impressions upon me and they 
have irresistibly instilled into me a 
warm patriotic and kindly feeling to¬ 
wards Utah and her people. From the 
time the people of Utah launched them¬ 
selves u^n the desert ocean of this in¬ 
termountain region until a few years 
ago they had almost an incessant 
stormy voyage, but now the furious 
portion of the storm has ceased and it 
is sincerely hoped that the turbulent 
waters of the past will forever in tha 
future remain calm. Privation and re¬ 
ligious warfare which have divided us 
all, and the bitter and unpleasant feel¬ 
ings which have divided the people into 
two distinct classes, it is to be hoped 
will never return again, but that har¬ 
mony and well wishing will supplant 
all the past discord, and that the peo¬ 
ple of Utah will become one united 
comomnwealth working together to 
build up within these mountains a 
prosperous and magnificent State. 
Now, after the storm is passed and 
quietude prevails over this land of 
yours and mine, we should spare a 
moment now and then for meditation 
upon the past. If this be done it will be 
made clear no doubt to all of us who 
are fair minded and thoughtful that 
the past discord and religious warfare 
in these valleys have been due to dif¬ 
ferences of honest opinions and honest 
convictions, and the fact may be 
learned and appreciated that each con¬ 
tending faction has exhibited a nature 
in accordance with the laws of the 
great God of the universe who has cre¬ 
ated all mankind and given to each 
individual a nature which seemeth to 
Him best. Furthermore, it may be 
learned that human nature varies as do 
all things else, that each individual 
mind looks out upon nature through a 
different pair of eyes and surveys the 
open fields from different points of 
view, and usually sees a different set 
of objects and the same objects in dif¬ 
ferent phases. My friends, who would 
have it otherwise? for, it is this that 
individualizes men, makes each an in¬ 
dividual entity. "We have good reason 
therefore to forgive each other for past 
differences, for past prejudices. "We 
know more than we did in the past, we 
know human nature better, we know 
more of natural law’s, w’e are wiser and 
it is to be hoped that we are better. 

“The Pioners of Utah are mostly de¬ 
scendants of the Pilgrim Fathers of 
America. They came to Utah for the 
same purpose as did the Pilgrim Fa¬ 
thers land upon the shores of America. 
They have had more or less the same 
characteristics. They are human mor¬ 
tals as their forefathers were and like¬ 
wise have made some mistakes. Had 
they not made mistakes they w’ould 
not have been human. When they en¬ 
tered Utah it i\’as a desert covered in 
places with alkali and sage brush. 
There wus little water flowing from the 
mountains into the vallevs below. 
Great Salt Lake covered a small area 
as compared with the area since cov¬ 
ered by its w’aters. Savage Indians and 
wild animals roamed through its val¬ 
leys and over its mountains and all 
seemed no doubt as desolate to the 
Utah Pioneers as the bleak shores of 
Plymouth on the Atlantic did to the 
Pilgrim Fathers. Nothing was to be 
done on entering Utah but to become 
reconciled to the conditions and to 
make the best of them. 

“Cabins were immediately construct¬ 
ed and all walled in as a protection 
from the attacks of Indians. The 
sage brush was cleared from the land, 
the earth ploughed up and sown with 
w’heat, water ditches dug and roads 
into canyons made, and thus did the 
Pioneers of Utah make a beginning of 
life in this desolate looking country. 
In a short time Professor Orson Pratt 
surveyed and laid out Salt Lake City 
now the metropolis of this vast inter- 
mountain region from the Rocky 
mountains to the East to the state of 
California on the west and running 
north and south through the whole ex¬ 
tent of the United States. Men and 
their families w’ere soon sent to all 
parts of the territory to locate and 
tmild up homes wherever in their judg¬ 
ment it would be possible to obtain a 
livelihood and in a verv short time 
small villages were found on nearly 
all the important streams ■«'ithin the 
confines of the territory. Indian depre¬ 
dations and wars followed and the red 
men were a source of annoyance and 
trouble for a long time. The people of 
the territory themselves had to fight 
the battles with the Indies. 

“Am” Litb these troubles was the 
grett iTement and anticipations of 
fhl n/^f^ ovl? the coming into Utah 
of mt°Tlc ,° army. This incident in 
tv, Johnson s Utah people pass¬ 
ing p^m^ore or less excitement 

feelings and forebod- 

nd unpleasan approach of 

>ngs in hearing ° the Terri- 


call the feelings within myself on hear¬ 
ing that an army of the United States 
was coming to Utah. The Johnson’s 
army trouble was fresh in my mind, 
the Echo canyon episode recalled, and 
all the imaginations of what might re¬ 
sult from the battle with the approach¬ 
ing army made impressions upon my 
mind which will probably never be 
eradicated. Incidently with all these 
experiences came the grasshopper 
raids, times of scanty clothing and of 
the lack of proper food and of hard¬ 
ships in general. Finally better days 
came. By the indstry of the people 
water supply throughout the territory 
was increased and land made to yield 
abundant harvests. Herds of sheep 
and horned stock were increased,mines 
were opened up and made to yield the 
precious metals at the stroke of the 
hardy miner, here and there manufac¬ 
turing industries began—all helping to 
serve the people better on their ap¬ 
proach to greater prosperity and hap¬ 
piness. The strife, however, of relig¬ 
ious war was still on and must come to 
an end to bring about perfect pros¬ 
perity and peace. 

“At a time still fresh in our minds 
came the great boom striking Salt 
Lake City and some other cities and 
towns like a cyclone, from the effects 
of which people are just beginning to 
slowly recover. As a counter force 
and as a partial compensation for the 
destructive effects of the boom has 
advent of Brigham Young and the 
hardy Pioneers. And it is well that 
this society has been formed before 
the last of that noble band have tra¬ 
veled their long journey to "that home 
whence no traveler returns” and while 
together much more and become more 
thoroughly acquainted with each other 
in every respect. The result is that a 
better feeling in general exists, al¬ 
though since the division on party 
lines the sailing has not always been 
smooth going and unaccompanied by 
a rough sea, a feature which could 
not reasonably be expected. Human 
nature has not indeed approached to¬ 
wards the goal of perfection suffi¬ 
ciently near to warrant perfect peace 
'•bile. All, no doubt, will wel¬ 
come, yes thrice welcome, the time 
when that happy day shall come. 

“In regard to industries it is known 
that along with other industries which 
have been established in our commun¬ 
ity is tbe sugar industry, probably the 
most important and most profitable 
industry yet established in Utah, and 
we hail the second sugar factory in the 
State about to be established in Ogden. 
The iron industry,the gunpowder, glass, 
soda and broom industries of the past 
should all be revived and then with our 
cotton and wollen factories and our 
sugar industry, Utah would soon be 
prepared to enter upon a time of pros¬ 
perity never before realized. In the 
turmoil through which the pioneers of 
Utah had to pass, they did not forget 
to provide for the establishment of a 
State University, which existed, it is 
true, only nominally for a long time, 
but it is now doing excellent work and 
has accomplished during the last 
twenty-five years much in giving the 
young men and young women of the 
territory a good liberal education. It is 
true, as it has been true in other ter¬ 
ritories and states, for some time after 
the settlement of Utah the opportuni- 
ies for an education were very meagre. 
The people had all they could do to 
battle with the elements of nature for 
the necessaries of life. Gradually, how¬ 
ever, district schools were established 
throughout the community, some being 
free, others not , but at last came free 
public schools and compulsory educa¬ 
tion for all, in pursuance of law passed 
by our legislature; and now we have an 
excellent school system for the etire 
State. 

“In looking back over the history of 
our State and studying closely the peo¬ 
ple, their religion, their customs, their 
actions, and the motives for their 
actions, the conditions surrounding 
them and all the attendant circum¬ 
stances, it is easy to perceive cause and 
effect, human misgivings and conse¬ 
quences, misunderstandings, mistakes, 
failures and successes—most all more 
prominent and distinctive than they 
otherwise would have been with a less 
zealous, less enthusiastic, less emotion¬ 
al and less earnest people. 

“This historical society has an impor¬ 
tant work to perform in accumulating 
facts pertaining to the history of the 
people of this State, both with respect 
to the past as well as to future time. 
"Work of this kind is due to future gen¬ 
erations. and to the philosophical his¬ 
torian whose duty it will be to study 
these facts carefully, to weave them to¬ 
gether logically and to learn from them 
more concerning the natural laws gov¬ 
erning the human mind and human 
actions, that he and others may be bet¬ 
ter able to predict the future from the 
feelings, motives and actions of the 
people of their time. 

“Nothing is more Interesting and in 
fact more important to man than the 
study of man, than to know his past 
history, his mode of living, the amuse¬ 
ments in which he participated, his 
every-day thoughts, his thoughts and 
beliefs of a future life, his attainments 
in the arts and sciences, his manners 
and conduct. This is as it should be; 
for, around man all else center. He is 
the most nearly perfect being of all 
creation within the knowledge of the 
human mind. He with all his faults is 
the nearest expression of a Divinity in 
all nature. His structure is the grand¬ 
est, the most complicated and the most 
ingeniously formed. His capabilities 
and intelligence far surpass all othei 
beings. In him are the combined ener¬ 
gies. instincts, and intelligence on this 
earth typified. There is therefore a 
good reason for having an interest in 
man and his works and for taking an 
interest in his past life. The Historical 
Society of Utah, I take it, is prompted 
by more or less, the same motives 
which have actuated other societies 
and other men and women that have 
taken upon themselves to gather facts 
and relics pertaining to the past his¬ 
tory of man, and to gather in the facts 
and incidents of his current history and 
to preserve all for their own benefit and 
information, and for the benefit and in¬ 
formation of those of future genera¬ 
tions. 

•‘In all the history of Utah, now, it 
seems to me, is the best time for the 
performance of such a work; for her 
people are now better prepared to work 
more in harmony together for the ac¬ 
complishment of this end. The data 
accumulated and the facts gathered 
will be less apt to be on the one side 
of the many controversies in which the 
people have been involved, and for this 
reason, future generations ■will be more 
impartially informed of the nature of 
all the people of Utah, their attitude 
toward one another, their differences, 
their strife, their politics, religion, their 
industry and their schools, in all things 
pertaining to their true natures and 
their history in general.” 











LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 





















































